I usually shop early for Christmas gifts because I absolutely cannot stand how crazy the stores get the few weeks before Christmas. I also love to shop online as much as possible because not only do I get everything brought right to my doorstep for me but I also can find some different and unique gifts for my loved ones. I especially like turning to the Web for toys for my son because I can usually find some great toys that I won’t find anywhere else. Lakeshore Learning is a great company that sells some fantastically fun toys for kids of all ages. The best part is they are educational as well!

While Lakeshore Learning has tons of different crafts, toys and puzzles to choose from I got to try out a few items. One of those is their I Can Spell! Activity Mat for kids ages 4-7. I liked this product a lot because my son is incredibly smart but heck if I can get him to sit for long while we try to sound out words. This activity mat allows us to interact and gets my son involved in learning how to spell while getting some of the sillies out. The set comes with a number of picture cards that have a word on them. You can then guide your child to hopping or jumping from letter to letter to spell out the word. They can yell out the letters as they do it.

Lakeshore Learning also sells a number of different paint sets and brushes that are great for the classroom but they also are great for the child who loves arts and crafts. I tried out their big bottles of glitter paint along with a set of texture brushes. My son loves to paint and also loves glitter glue. He lays it on heavy so it’s not hard to use up small tubes pretty quickly. The big 1 pint bottles of glitter paint are only $3.99 a piece which I thought was a fantastic deal. They have squirt tops and close nicely so they won’t dry out.

You can visit http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/ for more information or to do some of your Christmas or classroom shopping. I love that most of these products are battery-free. I try to keep most of our toy load in the house pro-imagination and less battery hungry toys. This is a great site for education but fun projects and toys.

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